company. | jori

Intro

Being alone was never something Tori Vega was very good at. It was constricting and crushing, making it hard to breathe or think or feel anything but loneliness. But it was also empty and vague, allowing nothing but breathing and thinking until you've made yourself feel anything you can that isn't loneliness.

Sometimes it physically hurt Tori when she was alone for too long. Her chest would ache and she'd want nothing more than to curl up in a ball and sleep forever.

Her parents and sister had picked up the habit of constantly being out of the house, her mother and father always away on some trip, and Trina hating being alone just as much as Tori. Trina just knew how to find solutions for it, like partying or hookups or sleepovers every night. It wasn't like her parents were around to scold her for it.

For a long time Tori didn't need to find solutions for her loneliness. Her friends she had made at her new school always barging into her house at just the right time. And although Tori always complained they walked in without knocking, she was the one who left the door unlocked on purpose.

But it was winter break and her friends were gone. Trina was out on a ski trip with her own friends and her parents were God knows where. Her best friend Andre was taking this time to go see his dad, while her other friends like Cat, Beck, and Robbie also went back to where their families were from to spend the holidays there with them.

The only person Tori knew was still in Los Angeles was Jade West. But Tori knew she'd have to be desperate for company if she ever felt the need to call Jade. They weren't the best of friends, according to Jade they weren't even friends at all. Tori would've begged to differ a few months ago, but after a few months of a relentless cold shoulder and snide remarks from Jade, she'd given up on pushing any possible friendship with her.

Winter break was long though, just thinking about three weeks of sitting alone in her house had Tori itching to pick up her phone and demand Jade spend time with her. But she was smarter than that, it was only Saturday and she would be damned if she allowed Jade any insight into what her biggest fear could be. Knowing Jade she'd use Tori's phobia of loneliness against her, teasing her for it, mocking her, maybe even doing whatever she can to make Tori feel alone.

Jade was good at being lonely, in fact most days she preferred it. There was something comforting about knowing it was only her around herself, that she didn't have to depend on anybody else to feel something, that it could be just her and she would be okay. And on the days she didn't want to be alone completely, she usually opted to hangout with her boyfriend Beck or drag her best friend Cat out with her wherever Jade felt like going.

Jade's mom wasn't home often due to work and her little brother would usually stay out of her way, and in a house as big as hers they'd end up only seeing each other a handful of times a week. Jade's mom trusted her to look after her brother, and Jade trusted her brother to not put himself in life threatening danger so they had no need to interact.

Interacting with people who weren't Beck for too long would tire Jade out to no end. She'd get irritable and snappy, just anxiously awaiting her time to be alone once again. School was a nightmare for her when she got especially overwhelmed by people, so times like winter break were something Jade truly treasured. Although she may miss Beck sometimes, she wasn't about to complain about having time alone.

Maybe that's why when Tori Vega called her on a Monday morning she declined immediately before really registering what it was. She didn't know why Vega was calling, and she pushed away any thought of it as she went to her bathroom to get ready for the day.

Tori wasn't so easy to forget though, after finally gathering the courage to call Jade, not being allowed to courtesy of two full rings before her call was denied was utterly frustrating. It had only been 2 full days that Tori had spent alone and she was already starting to freak out. It just wasn't easy for her. Normally she could make herself get through at least 4 days without needing to spend time with somebody. But the thought of three full weeks just like this is what really killed her. So when Jade declined her call, Tori wasn't proud of it but, her first reaction was to cry.

It was embarrassing and unnecessary and overdramatic, but Tori couldn't help it. And she wasn't one to repress her feelings so she just let it happen. It wasn't an angry cry, and it wasn't sad, it was simply frustrated. She just slumped down into her couch and cried, squeezing her fists and eyes shut, allowing tears to fall down her cheeks. It was a stupid cry but she couldn't stop. Being this afraid of loneliness has to be the stupidest thing ever, Tori thought to herself as she wiped away the tears on her face even though she knew she wasn't done crying.

Tori's phone lit up and started buzzing and she almost jumped, not even considering the fact that Jade would call back. Knowing that this was probably a fluke she answered as fast as she could, fearing Jade would back out and hang up if she took too long. Unfortunately this did not give Tori enough time to recollect herself after crying. So when she gave a choked out, "Jade." She sounded more pathetic and more upset than she actually was. She cursed the Gods for letting her throat get caught at the wrong moment and making her seem so weak.

There was silence on the other line for a few seconds before Tori could hear the slight jingle of keys and the opening of a door. "Give me fifteen minutes. I'll be there when I'm there." Jade said before hanging up without reply. Tori sat there for a few moments with the phone still held to her ear before she realized she wasn't crying anymore, and now all she felt was mortified that she was ever crying in the first place.

Tori looked around at her kitchen and living room, taking note of how messy they were. If she knew Jade was planning to come over she would've cleaned up, she was just thinking that maybe Jade would've preferred to go out and not be alone with Tori so she didn't bother. And while Tori considered cleaning at least a little bit she decided against it and just letting Jade see the mess, what could be more embarrassing than calling a girl who hates you while crying about the fact that you're alone.

Embarrassment wasn't something Tori handled well, it being one of the only things she wants be alone during. But that would just be counterintuitive, so she sat patiently on her couch watching shitty television and waited for Jade to walk through her front door.

About forty five minutes later Jade walked in and headed towards Tori's kitchen, putting something in the fridge before walking over to the living room and sitting on the other couch as far away from Tori as possible. "You said fifteen minutes." Tori said matter of factly before picking up the remote to let Netflix know she was still watching. "Yeah well..." Jade hesitated, "I just wasn't sure if I actually wanted to come over."

Normally Tori would've been hurt, but she was just happy to have some company, even if the company hated her.